Apparatus for producing oilimpregnated fibers



Sept. 3, 1968 M. L. ABEL 3,399,643

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OIL-IMPREGNATED FIBERS Original Filed April 1,1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ii 1 E- {a j; Q a [4 1 I A. 7/ //////fl A\\\\\\\\\i -M/l/E/VTOR Marzv'n L. Abe B) ATT NEY$ M. L. ABEL Sept. 3, 1968 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 1 1965 71 v z a I 21M W Z w/ w 5 M.Q a w Y I I a I FWMLTHNHHQHHHH I? E j n WA L 0 4 v 4 I I T LHM u, M mm5/ A E L i a w r n u h M 4 o .4 :4 aw V i u r n 5 y w i n a 7 7 O L n. Ill A T u 7 f EWE Z Z A M 1 w w L i J "7 A E V w. 4 2 P u Sept. 3, 1968M. L. ABEL 3,399,648

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OIL-IMPREGNATED FIBERS.

Original Filed April 1, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Q A A? L j/ I ]fl\ \2 Jar1/}; E 2 44 i 4 2 II? F] W7/// /3 IV VENT 0/? Martin L. 422% M. L. ABEL3,399,648

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OIL-IMPREGNATED FIBERS Sept. 3, 1968 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed April 1, 1963 MIVEWI'OR I Maritza L. 46%BY 4% WZW Sept. 3, 1968 M. L. ABEL 3,399,648

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OIL-IMPREGNATED FIBERS Original Filed April 1,1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 A? Q /3 /:1 A! /l A? v a; n *1 I; /ifi [I At? 4/ lIN VENTUQ Martin L. 417% ArmRNYs BY Al /J/ {m1 United States Patent3,399,648 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING OIL- IMPREGNATED FIBERS Martin L.Abel, 14141 Balfour, Oak Park, Mich. 48237 Original application Apr. 1,1963, Ser. No. 269,576, new Patent No. 3,226,801, dated Jan. 4, 1966.Divided and this application Apr. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 445,084

Claims. (Cl. 11837) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for shreddingfibers from a length of webbing material and mixing a predeterminedamount of oil with the fibers to produce a charge of oil impregnatedfibers. Means feed the Webbing into a chamber containing a rotatingshredding blade and an oil injection opening where the fibers and oilare mixed. Oil impregnated fibers are fed from an outlet in the chamberto a receiver to form the charge.

This application is a division of copending application Ser. No.269,576, filed Apr. 1, 1963, now US. Patent No. 3,226,801.

Packing materials of various natures have been employed in the past.These usually took the form of a waste-like material saturated with anoil which was packed about the shaft or the journal of a bearing.Various materials were used as a carrier, wool yarn, asbestos, cottonand the like, alone or in combination. Such materials were packed withgreases or oils and employed about the shaft and journals of a bearing.More recently, since the advent of sintered bearing materials, suchlibricants were applied in a reservoir in rear of the bearing sleeve tofeed the oil or other lubricant therethrough to the shaft. Due to thepumping condition produced by the operation of the shaft within thebearing sleeve, the oil would work toward the ends of the sleeve andslingers were employed for returning the oil to the carrier material,thereby providing a bearing which required no added lubricant. A wickingmaterial was developed from macerating wood fiber paper to obtain smallfibers which received and supported at least five times by volume theoil lubricant to such tenacity that the resulting mixture could beinjected into the bearing well.

In practicing the present invention a machine reduces a length ofwebbing material back to its fiber form at the time that a wickingmaterial was to be delivered to a bearing well. During the shredding ofthe webbing material, oil is injected in fine globular form onto thefibers as they were separated from the Webbing strip. The shredding isproduced by a cutter having peripheral teeth which passed over anaperture and the end of the webbing material as it is advanced to aperipheral area having a diameter substantially equal to that of thecutter. The shredding tool passing across the aperture adjacent to theperipheral wall pulled and released the fibers from the end of thewebbing strip so that only individual fibers were present in the fiuifymixture of fibers produced thereby. While the shredding was occurringthe oil in fine globular form, almost as a mist, was saturating thefibers to a desired degree so that the resulting mixture had at leastfive to one of the oil and fibers by volume. This mixture was collectedwithin a cylinder and was advanced to a delivery cylinder which movedthe mixed material upwardly through an aperture in the sleeve of thebearing into the well in the rear thereof. It was found in thisarrangement that the fibers of cotton or wool and other materials wouldsupport the oil for the short distance of travel without a separationtherebetween. The wood fibers were the only ones which could supportsuch a ratio between the fibers and the oil when injected throughmetering devices and advanced over a substantial distance without losingthe lubricity of the mixture. In view of the short time in which thelubricant is to be retained and the short path in which it is to travelwithout being metered the cotton, wool or other similar fibers werefound to be adequate as a carrier for the desired amount of lubricantwhich must be employed to satisfactorily lubricate the shaft for thelife of the device in which it operates.

The main objects of the invention are: to provide a machine forshredding fibers from the end of a strip of webbing while spraying apredetermined amount of oil thereover; to shred a predetermined amountof fibers from the end of a strip of webbing while applying apredetermined amount of a lubricant thereto and transfer the saturatedfibers to a well of a bearing; to advance the end of a webbing apredetermined amount against the teeth of a shredder for producing loosefibers which are sprayed with a lubricant and delivered to a ram whichmoves the material into the Well of a bearing; to produce a lubricatingmaterial from small lengths of wool, cotton or other fibers which willretain more than four times its weight of lubricating oil whenimmediately delivered into a well of a bearing; and, in general, toprovide a machine and a wicking material for a bearing well which issimple in construction, positive in operation and economical ofmanufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will bespecifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for abetter understanding of the invention, to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a machine for making and delivering awicking material to the well of a bearing;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the delivery head of themachine illustrated in FIGURE 1 with the well of a bearing disposedthereover;

FIGURE 3 is a broken sectional view of the structure illustrated inFIGURE 1, as viewed from the back side thereof;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, broken sectional view of the structureillustrated in FIGURE 3, taken on the line 44 thereof;

FIGURE 5 is a broken, sectional view of the structure illustrated inFIGURE 6, taken on the line 5-5 thereof;

FIGURE 6 is a broken, sectional view of the structure illustrated inFIGURE 4, taken on the line 6-6 thereof;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged, broken, sectional view of a structureillustrated in FIGURE 3, taken on the line 77 thereof;

FIGURE 8 is a broken, sectional view of the structure illustrated inFIGURE 7, taken on the line 8-8 thereof;

FIGURE 9 is a view in elevation of servo devices employed in the base ofthe machine illustrated in FIGURE 3- FIGURE 10 is a view of structuresimilar to that of FIGURE 2, showing another form of delivery head; and

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged, broken, sectional view of the structureillustrated in FIGURE 10, taken on the line 1111 thereof.

The device of the present invention embodies a base frame 10 having atop plate 11 thereon which supports a C-shaped head 12 on the front endthereof. The upper portion of the head supports a cylinder 13 having apiston rod 14 movable therefrom to advance a head 15 downwardly to clampa bearing in predetermined position. The head 15 has an adjustable rod1'6 thereon carrying an arm 17 for operatin the arm of a switch 18 thecontacts of which are actuated when the head 15 reaches its lowermostposition. The lower extending portion 19 of the head 12 carries afixture 21 of any desired design for locating the bearing relative tothe head 15. The fixtu-re 21, as more specifically illustrated in FIGURE2, is that for locating and positioning an end bell 23 of a fractionalhorsepower motor which has inwardly extending portion 24 which fitswithin a slot 25 in the fixture. This locates a window 26 in a sleevebearing 27 opposite to an opening 28 in the end of the delivery nozzle29 provided on the upper end of a cylinder 31. The bearing is held inposition within the hub 32 of the end bell 23 by a spring washer 33 anda spring disc 34. The washer 33 forms a well about the bearing 32 forreceiving the wicking material. The piston 14 is recessed from the endof the head 15 and is preferably magnetized so as to support themedallion disc 34which is placed therein by the operator before the head15 is lowered. This is done for the purpose of applying the disc to theend of the hub 32 at the time the head 15 engages the end of the hub andaccurately locates the end bell 23 on the fixture.

The wicking material 35 is made in the device 36 located in the base ofthe machine below the plate 11 and head 12. The device 36 embodies apair of plates 37 and 38 having aligned cylindrical recesses 39 thereinfacing each other to form a chamber 40 for a shredder 41. The shredderis fixed on a shaft 42 which is journaled in apertures 43 centrally ofthe recesses 39. The right hand end of the shaft 42, as illustrated inFIGURE 4, is enclosed by a cap 44 while the opposite end extends throughan aperture in a cap 45. A pulley 46 is secured to the left hand end ofthe shaft as illustrated in FIGURE 4, and driven by a belt 47 from apulley 48 on the shaft of a motor 49.

A radial slot 51 extends through the left hand end of the plates 37 and38 as illustrated in FIGURE 6, through which a continuous length offibrous webbing 52 is advanced a predetermined amount during eachdelivery operation. It will be noted that the teeth of the shredder 41are directly adjacent to the peripheral surface of the chamber 40 sothat the end of the length of the webbing material will be radiallydirected against the teeth and will not be drawn downwardly across thesurface. This permits the teeth of the cutter to loosen and pull thefibers from the webbin material which are directed into an aperture 53which communicates with the chamber 40 at the left hand side of avertical diameter thereof. An aperture 54 of small diameter extends intothe chamber 40 at some point on the periphery thereof, thereinillustrated as being disposed directly opposite to the slot 51. Aconduit 55 is connected by a suitable fitting 56 to r the aperture 54. Apredetermined amount of oil in fine globular or mist form is produced bythe impingement of the oil under pressure as it is delivered against theteeth of the shredder 41 within the chamber 40. A predeterminde amountof oil is injected into the chamber at the time a predetermined amountof fibers are produced from the end of the webbing mate-rial 52 to forma charge of wicking material each time a prior formed charge isdelivered into a bearing Well.

The length of webbing material is fed between a driving roller 57 and afollower roller 58 which is urged against the lengths of webbingmaterial and toward the roller 57 by a pair of springs 59. The drivingroller is carried on a shaft 61 by a pair of brackets '62 which issecured to the sides of the plates 37 and 38 by screws 63. The followerroller 58 is supported on a shaft on a pair of arms 62 which arepivotally secured to the plates 37 and 38 by screws 65. The shaft 61 isconnected to an overrunning clutch 66 which is driven by a pinion 67from a rack 68. It is to be understood that the roller 57 may have itsperipheral surface knurled or otherwise roughened to produce a positivedrive to the length of the webbing material. Preferably the length ofthe webbing material is formed of garnetted fibers, the layers of whichare folded over a number of times to produce a desired thickness to thestrip.

A bracket 69 is mounted about the pinion 67 for guiding the forward endof the rack 68 and for supporting a plate 71 which has a flange 72extending downwardly with its end bent outwardly at 73 and secured byscrews 74 to a supporting plate 75. The plate 71 supports a plate 76having screws 77 extending through slots 78 by which the plate 76 may beadjusted on the plate 71 to various positions over a substantial lengththereof. The plate 76 supports a switch 79 in position to have itsactuating arm 81 (FIG. 7) engaged by an arm 82 on the rack 68 when inadvanced position. The arm 82 is of sufiicient height to pass over theplate 71 and to contact the arm 81 in any of its positions thereabove.

The rack is supported on a piston rod 83 which extends from a piston ina cylinder 84, the rear end of which is mounted on a stub shaft 85extending through bosses of a bracket 86. The forward end of thecylinder carries a bracket 87 on which a switch 88 is mounted, having anactuating arm 89 extending in the path of the arm 82 which also actuatesthe arm on the switch 79. The switches 79 and 88 control the length ofmovement of the rack 68 and thereby the length of the webbing materialwhich is fed against the teeth of the cutter 41. The amount of fiberswhich are treated each operation is controlled by the position of theswitch 79 which may be adjusted a substantial amount on the plate 71.The webbing material is furnished on rolls 91 having a shaft 92extending through the center and disposed in cradles 93 on uprightswhich are supported on the plate 11. The webbing is fed through arectangular tube 94 which guides the strip to the rollers 57 and 58.

The oil-laden fibers fall through the aperture 53 into a square cylinder95 having a square piston 96 therein. The cylinder and piston arehorizontally disposed and communicate with the vertically disposedcylinder 31. The front end of the piston has an arcuate surface struckon the center of the cylinder 31 so as to complete the wall thereofafter the piston 96 has advanced to its forward position, as illustratedin FIGURE 6. This advances the charge 98 of the wicking material intothe cylinder 31 above the piston 99 thereof. The piston is supported ona piston rod 101 which extends from a cylinder 102 connected to a piston103 disposed within the cylinder. Conduits 104 and 105 are connected tothe wall of the cylinder at the opposite ends thereof. The rod haswashers 106 and 107 thereon which actuates the arms of switches 108 and109 disposed in the path of movement of the washers.

The piston 96 is connected by a piston rod 111 to a piston within thecylinder 112 which has conduits 113 and 114 connected to the oppositeends thereof. A switch 115 is mounted on the rear end of the cylinder112 and a switch 116 is mounted on a bracket 117 attached to one end ofthe cylinder. The operating arm of the switch 116 is in the path ofmovement of the piston 96 which actuates the arm and operates the switchwhen the piston is in retracted position. In the forward position of therod 111 a washer 119 mounted adjacent to the rear end thereof actuatesthe arm of the switch 115 when the piston 96 is in forward position.

As illustrated in FIGURE 9 a 4-way valve 121 has an intake conduit 122for the oil supply and the outlet conduit 55 connected thereto thelatter of which is connected to the fitting 56 to supply oil through theaperture 54 to the chamber 40. Conduits 123 and 124 are connectedbetween the 4-way valve 121 and a metering valve 125. The oil passingthrough the conduit 123 moves the piston of the metering valve todeliver the metered amount of oil therefrom to the conduit 124 the valve121 and to the conduit 55 to the passageway 54 and chamber 40. Upon thereverse movement of the valve 121 fluid is advanced through the conduit124 to move the piston of the metering valve 125 upwardly to force themetered amount of oil thereabove through the conduit 123 to valve 121conduit 55 aperture 54 into the chamber 40. A fluid operated cylinder126 operates the spool 127 of the 4-way valve each time it is operatedin one or the other direction. Solenoid operated valves 128, 129 and 131control the delivery of oil to and from the cylinders 31, 84 and 112 inthe sequence of operation of the various switches. A pair of switches132 and 133 at each side of the C head 12 must be actuated by both handsof the operator to initiate an operation.

When operating the machine the operator first places the end bell 23 inproper position upon the fixture 21 and over the nozzle end of thecylinder 31 with the discharge aperture 28 aligned with the window 26 inthe sleeve bearing 27 located by the inwardly projecting portion 24 ofthe end bell within the aperture of the fixture. Thereafter themedallion disc 34 is applied to the end of the piston rod 14 and both ofthe switches 132 and 133 ar actuated by both of the hands of theoperator. This energizes one of the solenoid valves which supplies oilto the bottom end of the cylinder 102 beneath the piston 103 which isadvanced thereby to move the piston 99 in the cylinder 31 upwardlytherein to carry the charge of wicking material 98 upwardly therein andforce the remaining portion 35 of the prior charge out through theopening 28 and through the opening 26 of the bushing into the well 35.At the end of the upward movement the washer 106 strikes the arm of theswitch 108 and actuates it to operate the solenoid valve 128 to itsinitial position which reverses the flow of oil in the conduit 104 anddirects oil through the conduit 105 above the piston 103 in the cylinder102, thereby retracting the rod 101 and the piston 95 to its initialposition. The washer 107 strikes the arm of the switch 109 and energizesthe solenoid operated valve 129 to its initial position directing oilthrough the conduit 114 to the forward end of the cylinder 112 toreverse the movement of the piston rod 111 and to retract the piston 96.At the end of the piston movement the arm of the switch 116 is actuatedto close the switch and thereby energize the solenoid 131 which directsfluid through the conduit 134 in the rear end of the piston in thecylinder 84 to advance the rod 83 and rack 68 to advance a predeterminedlength of the webbing material 52 to the teeth of the shredder 41. Atthe same time the solenoid 126 is energized to shift the 4-way valve 121and thereby cause the delivery of a predetermined amount of oil throughthe passageway 54 to the chamber 40. When the arm 82 strikes the arm 81of the switch 79, the valve 131 is reversed and fluid is directedthrough a conduit 135 at the forward end of a cylinder 84 to retract thepiston rod 83 and the rack 68 which does not drive the shaft 61 in viewof the presence of the overrunning clutch 66.

The cylinder 126 has the fluid, which is oil or the like, directed toeither end of the cylinder by conduits 136 and 137 from a valve 138which is controlled by a solenoid 139. A holding relay 141 is in thecircuit 142 to the solenoid 139 which produces the operation of valve138 in each cycle of operation of the machine. Upon the forwardadvancement of the rack 68 the switch 88 has its contacts closed whichenergizes the solenoid 139 to operate the valve 138 to cause the pistonto move to the opposite end of the cylinder 126. This produces aninjection of the oil through the 4-way valve 121 from either one of theconduits 123 or 124 to the conduit 55. The holding relay 141 secures thecircuit closed which is retained closed until the switch 88 has itscontacts open upon the return movement of the rack 68. The next forwardmovement of the rack 68 closing the contacts of switch 88 will producethe energization of the solenoid 139 and the operation of the valve 138which returns the piston to the opposite end of the cylinder therebyproducing a flow of fluid from the metering valve 125 through the 4-wayvalve 121 to the conduit 55. Again the holding relay 141 maintains thecircuit closed which will not be open until the return movement of therack 68 which opens the contacts of the switch 88. In this manner oil issupplied to the chamber 40 each cycle of operation of the machine fromone or the other end of the metering valve through one or the other ofconduits 123 or 124 through the 4-way valve 121 to the conduit 55. The4-way valve 121, the cylinder 126 and the solenoid valve 138 aresupported on a plate 143 by bolts 144. A piston rod 145 extends from thecylinder 126 and is connected by a bolt 146 to the spool 127 of thevalve 121.

Referring to FIGURE 10, a further form of the invention is illustratedthat wherein a blade is employed for severing the fibers between thebearing and delivering head upon the completion of the deliveryoperation of the wicking material to the well of the end bell. Since thewicking material may have long fibers therein, it is dcsirable to severthe fibers before the end bell is removed from the delivery head. Thewicking material is entirely different from that which must support theoil when passing through an injection machine which meters a charge ofwicking material from the main supply and injects it into the well of abearing. It was found that extremely small wood pulp paper fibers wererequired to produce a material which would withstand the metering andinjection operations. The wicking material produced by the machine ofthe present invention is made from medium lengths of fibers whether ofcotton, wools, synthetic or of any other type since the metering of acharge from a main supply is not required. In view of the fact that theshredding operation does nothing but reduce the webbing material back tothe fiber form of a size from which the webbing material was made,various lengths of the fibers will be present. Difficulty wasexperienced when removing the bell end from the delivery head when longfibers extended through the openings thereof.

To overcome this difliculty, the delivery head 29 has a cutting cylinder150 thereabout containing a window 151 which is normally aligned withthe window 28 of the delivery head. The cylinder is made of extremelythin steel, such as the thinnest of a Gillette safety razor blade, andthe edge of the window 151 which is to be advanced across the opening 28of the head may be sharpened to have a cutting edge therealong. Thecylinder 150 is welded or otherwise secured to a pinion gear 152, thelower portion of the hub of which has external slots 149 extending overtwo diametrically disposed 90 sectors by having the bottom side wall cutaway thereat, two diametrically disposed arcuate flanges 148 extendinwardly from an annular flange 147 on the top of the cylinder 31 belowthe delivery head 29. The sectors permit the interfilling of the flanges147 with the slots 149 and the rotation thereafter into completeengagement when the windows 26 and 28 are in aligned relation. Thisinterlocking of the flanges in the slots retains the gear 152 inposition about the head 29 when the end bell is being removed. The gear152 mates with a pinion gear 153 mounted on a shaft 154 in drivingrelation thereto. Below the plate 11 the shaft has a driving pinion gear155 thereon with its teeth in engagement with the teeth of a rack 156which is advanced and retracted by a piston in a cylinder 157 which isconnected to a rod 158 attached to the end of the rack 156. A valve 159is actuated by a solenoid 161 for controlling the passage of fluid toand from conduits 162 and 163 for moving the piston to one or the otherend of cylinder 157 in the conventional manner. A conduit 164 deliversfluid under pressure to the valve while a conduit 165 delivers fluidback to tank.

At the end of the upward stroke of the piston 99 within the cylinder 31,the solenoid 161 isenergized to advance the rack 156 and thereby drivethe pinion gears 155, 153 and 152 to rotate the cylinder 150 to have thecutting edge of the window 151 pass across the window 28 requiring anarcuate movement of approximately 30 of rotation. Upon the returnmovement of the piston 99, the solenoid 161 is deenergized to have thespring pressed valve 159 return to its initial position therebyreturning the rack 156 to its initial position with the window 151aligned with the window 28. Any fibers extending between the window 28of the delivery head 29 and the window 26 of the sleeve bearing 27 willbe severed by the cutting edge of the window 151 as it is rotatedbetween the delivery head and the sleeve. The sloping cutting edge isbeveled toward the inside of the cylinder 150 so that the slopingsurface 166 will pack the severed wicking material in the opening 26 ofthe sleeve bearing 27. The retention of oil by the fibers is notcritical when a single charge of wicking material is manufactured eachtime a charge is delivered to the bearing well. Sufficient oil willalways be present in the material, the amount of which can be changed inthe manner indicated hereinabove. An oil having a viscositycorresponding to SAE numbers from 10 to 60 can be satisfactorily carriedby the fibers and delivered to the well of the bearing. Therefore,neither the length of the fibers or the lubricating oil, whether ofvegetable, animal or mineral origin, are critical for the forming of acharge by the machine and for delivering it directly to the well of thebearing. The only difficulty which may be encountered would be of fibersof too great a length which would be pulled from the well or the head.This difficulty has been overcome by the use of the cylindrical cutterabove described with regard to the structure of FIGURE 10.

When the word shredding is employed in the specification and claims, itis to be understood that the operation covers the separation of thefibers from the webbing strip and not the chopping of fibers to producesmaller lengths thereof. The operation reproduces the fibers as separateelements of substantially the same length and form which they had at thetime the garnetting or other process was employed to produce the webbingstrip from the fibers.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine, means for breaking down a predetermined portion of astrip of fibrous material substantially into the fibers of which it isformed to produce a predetermined amount of loose fibers, and means forinjecting a predetermined amount of oil onto the loose fibers to form apredetermined charge of oil-impregnated fibers having a predeterminedweight and a predetermined ratio of oil to fibers with the weight of theoil in said predetermined charge being several times the weight of theloose fibers.

2. The machine as defined in claim 1 including means for regulating theamount of loose fibers formed to accurately control the fiber content ofsaid charge.

3. The machine as defined in claim 2 including means for regulating theamount of oil injected into the loose fibers to accurately control theoil content of said charge, and means for collecting said charge withsubstantially all of said oil mixed with and retained by said fibers.

4. The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said first mentioned meanscomprises a housing having a cylindrical chamber with a slot in thecylindrical Wall thereof into which the end of the strip can beadvanced, a cylindrical shredding tool journaled within andsubstantially filling the chamber with a slight clearance therebetween,means for rotating said shredding tool, and means for advancing thestrip through the slot with the end in radial engagement with theperiphery of the tool.

5. The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said first mentioned meanscomprises a housing having a chamber and a slot therein communicatingwith said chamber into which the end of the strip can be advanced, ashredding tool within the chamber, means for driving said shreddingtool, means for advancing the strip through the slot with the end of thestrip in engagement with the tool, and

n 0 means for controlling the amount of advancement of said strip.

6. The machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said first mentioned meanscomprises a housing having a cylindrical chamber with a slot in thecylindrical wall thereof into which the end of the strip can beadvanced, a cylindrical shredding tool journaled within andsubstantially filling the chamber with a slight clearance therebetween,means for rotating said shredding tool, and means for advancing thestrip through the slot with the end in engagement with the periphery ofthe tool, and wherein said oil injecting means comprises means forinjecting said predetermined amount of oil into said chamber while saidshredding tool is breaking down the strip of fibrous material, saidhousing having a discharge opening radially disposed in the lowerportion of the cylindrical wall thereof to enable the oil-impregnatedfibers to be dishcarged radially from the chamber.

7. The machine as defined in claim 6 wherein the cross section of saidslot is substantially identical to the cross section of the strip sothat the strip will substantially fill said slot to close 01f saidopening against the escape of oil therethrough, and wherein said oilinjecting means comprises metering means for metering said predeterminedamount of oil, and means for injecting the metered amount of oil intosaid chamber.

8. The machine as defined in claim 7 including means for automaticallycycling said machine to intermittently advance a predetermined length ofsaid strip against the shredding tool and inject said metered amount ofoil into the chamber during each advancement of the strip in a manner toautomatically produce a plurality of substantially identical charges ofsaid oil impregnated wicking material.

9. In a machine for automatically producing a plurality of smallpredetermined separate charges of oil-impregnated wicking material,means for automatically and intermittently breaking down a mass of oilretaining material into substantially identical batches of small looseparticles of said oil retaining material, means for automaticallymetering and spraying a predetermined amount of oil into each batch ofparticles to form substantially identical predetermined charges ofoil-impregnated wicking material, and means for receiving each of saidcharges of oil-impregnated wicking material in a manner to maintain thecharges separate from one another, the weight of the oil in each of saidcharges being several times the weight of the particles. v

10. The machine as defined in claim 9 including means for adjusting saidmachine to change the ratio of the Weight of the oil to the weight ofthe fibers in said charges formed after the adjustment.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 690,505 1/1902 Wurster 146120 X845,721 2/1907 Sovereign 24115 1,891,245 12/1932 Sarvay et al. 241-382,079,094 5/1937 Whitehead et a1. 1966 X 2,081,967 6/1937 Whitehead 1966X 2,229,566 1/ 1941 Hill et al. 19-66 2,327,087 8/1943 Austin 241-3 X2,335,515 11/1943 Jehle 241-3 X 2,513,344 7/1950 McEwen 8-104 2,655,21310/1953 Anderson 146120 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

JOHN P. MCINTOSH, Assistant Examiner.

